New South Wales Consolidated Acts

OPTICAL DISPENSERS ACT 1963 - SECT 26A

26A Written statements of decisions

(1) If the board decides under section 25 to reprimand or caution a person, to remove a person’s name from the register, to suspend a person’s licence or to make a prohibition order in respect of a person, the board shall, within one month of its decision, provide the person, and such other persons as it considers appropriate, with a written statement of its decision.

(2) If the board makes a decision in relation to a person under any provision of this Act, other than section 25, the person may request in writing that the board provide the person with a written statement of the decision.

(3) Any such request shall be made within 60 days after the decision to which it relates.

(4) The board shall provide a written statement of the decision within one month of receipt of such a request.

(5) A written statement of a decision shall:

(a) set out any findings on material questions of fact,

(b) refer to any evidence or other material on which the findings were based, and

(c) give the reasons for the decision.

(6) Despite any other provision of this section, the board is not required to include confidential information in any such statement, and if a statement would be false or misleading if it did not include the confidential information, the board is not required to provide the statement.

(7) If, because of subsection (6), confidential information is not included in a written statement of a decision or such a statement is not provided to a person, the board shall, within one month of a decision under section 25 or receipt of a request under subsection (2), give notice in writing to the person to whom the board is required (or would, but for subsection (6), be required) to provide the statement, indicating that:

(a) the confidential information is not included, or

(b) the statement will not be provided,

as appropriate, and giving the reasons why the confidential information is not included or the statement will not be provided.

(7A) The board:

(a) must make publicly available a statement of a decision if the decision is in respect of a complaint that has been proved or admitted in whole or in part and ensure that any such statement is provided to the Commission, and

(b) may disseminate any other statement of a decision as the board thinks fit.

(8) In this section:
"confidential information" means information that:

(a) has not previously been published or made available to the public when a written statement of a decision to which it is or may be relevant is being prepared,

(b) relates to the personal or business affairs of a person, other than a person to whom the board is required (or would, but for subsection (6), be required) to provide a written statement of a decision, and

(c) is information:

(i) that was supplied in confidence,

(ii) the publication of which would reveal a trade secret,

(iii) that was provided in compliance with a duty imposed by an enactment, or

(iv) the provision of which by the board would be in breach of any enactment.

(9) Nothing in this section affects the power of a court to make an order for the discovery of documents or to require the giving of evidence or the production of documents to a court.